Man facing murder charge free on bond

A Holton man facing second-degree murder charges stemming from the October death of his wife is free on bond after that bond was reduced during a Friday morning hearing in Jackson County District Court.

District Court Judge Norbert Marek reduced the $200,000 bond against George E. Fleshman Jr., 66, to its original amount of $75,000 during a status hearing that morning. Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller later said that Fleshman “bonded out almost immediately after (his bond) was reduced.”

The case against Fleshman stemmed from the Oct. 21, 2015, death of his wife, Elizabeth Fleshman, followed by an investigation into her death by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office based on what it termed “suspicious circumstances.” Fleshman was arrested March 8 by sheriff’s officers and taken to the Jackson County Detention Center, where he remained until Friday.

Holton defense attorney J. Richard Lake said Fleshman’s bond was originally set at $75,000, but raised to $200,000 without Fleshman’s knowing. That amount, Lake said, was beyond Fleshman’s financial means and “excessive in considering the legitimate ends of a bond,” according to the motion for bond reduction.

“We would like to see the original bond restated,” Lake told Marek on Friday. “He’s not in the best of health.”

Fleshman listed several ailments, including high blood pressure, COPD and “beginning-stage cataracts,” to back up Lake’s statement. When asked by Lake whether he could survive in his jail cell without certain treatments for his ailments, Fleshman replied, “I don’t think so.”

Miller said that while Fleshman was in poor health, he was still facing a charge on “a very serious offense.” She also noted that while “maybe $200,000 is high,” she was willing to agree to cut the bond in half to $100,000, “but no lower because of the charge against him.”

Marek took note of previous concerns that Fleshman might be considered a flight risk and that there was a possibility of “self-harm” in his case, something the defense denied in the motion for bond reduction.

In addition to reducing the bond to $75,000, Marek said that if Fleshman were able to bond out, he would need to be placed on electronic monitoring and not leave Jackson County. Fleshman’s preliminary hearing is currently scheduled for Wednesday, June 8 in district court.